A Night to Forever Remember: A Back in the Game fan fiction story
by pashotshot1
Summary: This is another Michael-based Back in the Game fan fiction story: Michael goes on a sleepover with Danny, and they both have a good time until a nightmare disturbs a peaceful night.


A Night to Forever Remember: A Back in the Game fan fiction story

The Angles were practicing in the baseball field again. The Cannon was hitting balls and the players were trying to catch the balls. They have conquered their fear enough to catch the ball, and they are even putting the balls back in the bucket when every last one was hit. After thirty minutes of working on catching the ball, Coach Terry told the players to take a ten minute break. The players went into the dugout to get some water. Michael and Danny sat together.

"Are you having fun out there?" Michael asked.

"It's always fun to be at the great outdoors on such a beautiful day," Danny said.

"Wow, you seem to be in great spirits today," Michael said.

"I am," Danny said. "The Cannon is playing poker at someone's house today so with him gone, my house can be at peace."

"That's awesome," Michael said. "I should ask my mom if I can sleep over at your place."

"You totally should," Danny said. "We can have the time of our lives."

"We sure can," Michael said. "We can bust some moves and play video games all night."

"We sure can," Danny said. "I'll go ask my mom."

"You do that," Michael said. Danny left and Michael pumped his fist and whispered loudly, "Yes!"

Coach Terry was still out getting the field ready for the next part of the practice session when Danny went to Coach Terry.

"Hey, Danny," Coach Terry said. "What's up?"

"Hey, Mom, with The Cannon crashing at someone's house tonight, can Michael come and stay the night with us?" Danny asked.

"Sure, that will be great," Coach Terry said. "I'll go talk to Lulu. But, in the meantime, you keep up the good work on the field today."

"I will," Danny said. He returned to where Michael was and said, "She said you can come over."

"Alright, get ready to p-a-r-t-y par-tae," Michael said.

"I will," Danny said.

The team returned to the field to work on their batting. Coach Terry pitched the ball for the kids to hit. Michael was up first, and he launched most of the baseballs into the outfield. Some of the outfielders were able to catch the ball that was hit their way. Danny was up next and he managed to get three base hits, one over the leftfield wall and two past the shortstop. Some of the players were also able to get good hits. After the hitting part of practice, they took another break before their end of practice conditioning.

"I am so excited about tonight," Danny said.

"Me, too," Michael said.

"You are doing really well out there," Danny said. "Ever since that grand slam a couple of weeks ago, your hitting has been amazing."

"So has yours," Michael said. "I saw that one that cleared the leftfield wall."

"Yeah, I never hit one that far before," Danny said. "I must have gotten under that really well."

"You must have," Michael said. "I hope we play this well at the game on Saturday."

"I hope so, too," Danny said. "We're getting closer and closer to our first win."

"I know," Michael said. "We scored seven runs on our last game."

"I know," Danny said. "I have never seen my mom so excited before."

"She's like my mom," Michael said. "She's a kid at heart."

"I think so, too," Danny said. "I am so looking forward to tonight."

"Me, too," Michael said.

"Hey, guys," Coach Terry said. "Good news. Michael, I talked to your mom and she said you can stay with us tonight."

"Yay," Michael said in total excitement. "Thanks, Coach Terry. I am really excited."

"You're welcome," Coach Terry said. "Now, go out there and have some more fun."

"We will," Danny said.

The players returned to the field for some end of practice conditioning where they run the bases. Each player did it three times and then returned to the dugout to pack their things and go home. Danny and Michael once again met up at the dugout.

"Ready to go make some memories," Michael said.

"I sure am," Danny said. "Let's get on our bikes and go to my place."

"Let's do it," Michael said.

Michael and Danny hopped on their bikes and started off for Danny's house.

"We're going to have so much fun," Michael said.

"I know," Danny said. "Video games, dancing, pizza for dinner and so much more"

"I know," Michael said. "I have never been this excited since the grand slam."

"I guess let the good times roll, huh, Michael?" Danny asked.

"Let the good times roll indeed," Michael said.

Danny and Michael parked their bikes in the backyard of Danny's house and went in through the back door.

"We are pulling out all the stops on this sleepover," Danny said.

"Indeed, we will," Michael said as they approached the living room.

"So, what video games do you want to play?" Danny asked. "I usually play those racing games."

"I am up for a racing game," Michael said as they both entered the living room. The two friends took off their hats and hung them on top of the coat racks. Michael sat down on one of the chairs while Danny set up the video game for himself and Michael.

"You will like this game," Danny said. "You get to race your car through a city."

"What is it called?" Michael said.

"Midtown Madness," Danny said. "You ride your car through Chicago."

"Chicago, Illinois?" Michael asked.

"That's the city," Danny said. "Now, let's race. What kind of race do you want to do?"

"That circuit race sounds fun," Michael said. "How would a few laps all around midtown Chicago sound?"

"Sounds awesome," Danny said. "I am driving the cop car."

"I am driving the roadster," Michael said.

"Okay, let's do this," Danny said.

Danny and Michael started the car race. Michael's car grabbed the early lead in the race, but then Danny's car tried to catch up. For most of the first lap, Michael's car preserved the lead, but heading into lap two, Danny and Michael were neck and neck. Danny pulled ahead at the middle of lap two after Michael nearly missed his turn, but Michael accelerated enough to catch up with Danny. However by the tail end of lap two, Danny regained the lead. At the middle of the final lap, Michael caught up with Danny and regained the lead. However, Danny kept it close. Danny and Michael were neck and neck heading up to the finish line, but Danny managed to squeeze the lead and won by almost a car length.

"Wow, that was a good race," Michael said.

"That really was," Danny said. "Good job. Want to do another one?"

"Sure," Michael said. "How about we race under the El Train?"

"Sounds good," Danny said.

Danny and Michael started the next car race. Michael's car grabbed the early lead, but after missing his first turn, Danny pulled ahead. Danny kept the lead for most of the first lap, but by the second lap, Michael caught up with Danny. Michael retained the lead and maintained it throughout the second lap and half of lap three before Danny finally caught up with Michael. Danny pulled ahead and won the race by three seconds.

"Nice race, Danny," Michael said.

"Thanks, Michael," Danny said. "Want to do some more races?"

"Sure," Michael said.

Michael and Danny did two more circuit races and a few checkpoint races before they finally took a break. They went to the kitchen where Coach Terry was.

"Hey, guys, having fun?" Coach Terry asked.

"We are," Danny said. "Michael is getting really good at those video games."

"I rocked the checkpoint races," Michael said. "Danny really did well on the circuit races, though."

"That's good to hear," Coach Terry said. "The pizza is on the way."

"Thanks, Coach," Michael said. "Are you ready to bust some moves, Danny?"

"I am ready," Danny said. "Let's get Dance, Dance Revolution started."

Danny and Michael returned to the living room. Michael sat on the couch and Danny set up the dance video game for himself and Michael. Danny played some music and they both got up and danced. The two danced with so much joy that when Coach Terry went in the living room, ready to announce that the pizza was ready, she started dancing with Danny and Michael. The three danced together for about ten minutes and when they settled down, Coach Terry said, "The pizza is ready in the kitchen."

"Alright, let's eat," Michael said and he, Danny and Coach Terry were off to the kitchen to eat some pizza.

"This pizza is so good, Mom," Danny said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Coach Terry said.

"This has been fun so far," Michael said. "Thanks for letting us do this."

"You're welcome, Michael," Coach Terry said. "The Angles are like family to me so I want to treat them like family."

Michael smiled and the three continued to enjoy their pizza.

"Are any of you up for a movie?" Coach Terry asked when the three were done with the pizza.

"I am up for a movie," Michael said.

"That will work," Danny said. "What did you get from the Red box?"

"I got The Lego Movie," Coach Terry said.

"Let's play it," Michael said.

Danny, Michael and Coach Terry went to the living room. Michael and Danny sat on some chairs in the living room while Coach Terry set up the movie. Once the movie was all set, Coach Terry sat on another chair in the living room and the three enjoyed the movie. The three filled the living room with laughs from the beginning to the end of the movie.

"That was such a good movie," Danny said. "Thanks, Mom. That was a good choice."

"You're welcome, Danny," Coach Terry said.

"I think we should call it a night," Michael said.

"Why? Are you tired?" Danny asked.

"Very tired," Michael said.

"Well, let's get you to bed, then," Coach Terry said.

"Come on to my room," Danny said. "You can sleep on my bed like you did last time you came to my place."

"Okay, thanks," Michael said.

Michael and Danny went to Danny's bedroom. Michael sat on Danny's bed.

"Wow, today was a lot of fun," Michael said.

"I know, Michael," Danny said.

"Could you help me get my cleats off?" Michael asked.

"Sure, Michael," Danny said and began untying Michael's cleats.

"I really enjoyed hanging out with you today," Michael said.

"Yeah, today was a whole lot of fun," Danny said.

"That Midtown Madness game was pretty awesome," Michael said. "I got to see Chicago without ever leaving this city."

"That's how I felt the first time I played the game," Danny said.

"And the music you picked for the dance video game rocked," Michael said. "I didn't realize you were into old school music."

"Yeah, my mom and I are," Danny said as he took off Michael's cleats. "Do you like it?"

"I do, considering that I don't hear it often," Michael said. "My mom likes songs that have been out in the last few years. Oh, and she's into Ricky Martin. Thanks for getting my cleats off for me. They're really hard to get off sometimes."

"I know," Danny said. "And your mom is into Ricky Martin? What? Is she Living La Vida Loca?"

"Pretty much," Michael said as he started taking his baseball socks off. "She likes his music because it's good music to dance to. Also, there is one song that she liked because she thought that it was romantic."

"That's cool," Danny said. "We should do this more often."

"Yeah, we should," Michael said. "This is so much fun."

"Yeah, and while we do this, my mom and your mom can have a girls night out," Danny said.

"They totally should," Michael said. "I think they are good enough friends to do it."

"Of course," Danny said. "I can even come to your place sometimes."

"You definitely should," Michael said as he started taking off his baseball uniform. "I have a lot of fun stuff at my place."

"That sounds wonderful," Danny said. "Maybe we can even play paintball together again."

"That sounds awesome," Michael said. "That was so much fun the last time we played."

"Yeah, that was," Danny said. "To this day, I keep thinking that we should do this more often."

"How about we go go-kart riding again?" Michael said.

"Yes, we should totally do that," Danny said. "Oh, and we should do the laser tag again."

"Most definitely," Michael said as he finished taking off his baseball uniform. "Well, I am going to lie down."

Michael lied down on Danny's bed and Danny placed his blankets over Michael and tucked him in.

"Good night, Michael and sweet dreams," Danny said.

"Good night, Danny," Michael said. "Thanks for an awesome day."

"You're welcome," Danny said. They both exchanged a smile before Danny left his bedroom. Danny met up with Coach Terry back in the living room while Michael closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"Is Michael ready for bed?" Coach Terry asked.

"Yes, I just tucked him in," Danny said.

"Really, you did that?" Coach Terry asked.

"I sure did," Danny said.

"Thanks, Danny, that was very helpful," Coach Terry said. "So, are you going to go to bed anytime soon?"

"Sure, do you still have that mattress you let me rest in when Dudley stayed over that one time?" Danny asked.

"I sure do," Coach Terry said. "Let me go get it ready for you."

"Thanks, Mom," Danny said.

"I'll also get your PJ's," Coach Terry said. "You can change over here while I get everything ready over there."

"That will work," Danny said.

Coach Terry went into Danny's bedroom and got Danny's pajamas. She went to the living room to hand them over to Danny and then she returned to the bedroom to ready Danny's mattress. Once she was done preparing Danny's mattress, she waited for Danny to change in the living room. Once Danny was done, he came to his bedroom.

"It's all ready for you, Danny," Coach Terry said.

"Thanks, Mom," Danny said.

"You're welcome," Coach Terry said as Danny got on the mattress. Coach Terry placed the blankets over Danny and tucked him in.

"Good night, Mom," Danny said.

"Good night, Danny," Coach Terry said. "Sweet dreams."

Danny closed his eyes and fell asleep. The night was looking to be peaceful, until . . .

At around 2am, Michael started running in his sleep. He began to moan and grumble in his sleep and that moaning and groaning then turned to Michael talking in his sleep. Within a few minutes, Michael's talking became yelling. The next thing you know, he was yelling, "No! Stop it! Don't hurt me! Go away! Don't hurt me!" The yelling woke Danny up and he went to his bed to try to wake Michael.

"Michael, wake up," Danny said. "Wake up. It's me, Danny. Wake up!"

At first, Michael didn't wake up, but kept yelling and running in his sleep. Danny continued to wake Michael.

"Wake up, Michael," Danny said. "Wake up. It's me, Danny. Wake up!"

Michael still didn't wake up, so Danny started shaking Michael.

"Wake up!" Danny said louder. "Wake up! Michael, WAKE UP!"

Michael finally woke up, breathing hard and looking scared out of his wits.

"Michael, are you okay?" Danny asked.

"Is he okay?" Coach Terry asked as she walked in the bedroom.

"I think he had a nightmare, Mom," Danny said.

"I did," Michael said between hard breaths. "I dreamed that the Cannon was chasing me, yelling me and hitting me. I kept telling him to go away and to stop hurting me, but he kept at it."

"Yeah, I know the Cannon is tough," Danny said.

"And very hard-driving," Coach Terry said. "But, don't worry, Michael, it was just a dream."

"I know," Michael said. "And now, thanks to that dream, I am so scared right now."

Tears began sprinting down Michael's cheeks as Michael began crying out of fear. Coach Terry, moved with compassion, sat on the bed next to Danny.

"Listen, Michael," Coach Terry said. "I would never let the Cannon harm a hair in your body. If he ever does that, he has to deal with me."

"I have noticed in the baseball games and practices that you always try to straighten him up," Michael said.

"I try my very best," Coach Terry said. "But, you have nothing to worry about because I love you and I care about you."

"And I care about you, too," Danny said. "You're a true friend to us and we want to be true friends to you."

"And that you are," Michael said. "Thanks, you both."

"You're welcome," Coach Terry said. "Now, don't worry about the Cannon. I will keep him straight. He's not going to hurt you."

"Thank you," Michael said and he held his arms out to hug Coach Terry, who gladly and compassionately accepted the hug. Michael cried in Coach Terry's arms for a couple of minutes before they broke up the hug. 

"Let me know if you need me again," Coach Terry said.

"You go get some rest, Mom," Danny said. "I'll make sure Michael's okay."

"Thanks, Danny, you're sweet," Coach Terry said. She left the bedroom, but while she returned to her bedroom to go back to sleep, she said to herself, "My Danny is growing up."

"Thanks, Danny," Michael said.

"You're welcome, Michael," Danny said.

Danny continued to sit on his bed and waited for Michael to calm down enough to return to sleep. However, even though Michael calmed down, he wasn't able to return to sleep. After thirty minutes, he said to Danny, "I can't sleep."

"Are you still worried about Cannon?" Danny asked.

"Yes, I am," Michael said. "What if this nightmare I had comes true?"

"It's not going to," Danny said. "But, I do understand how you feel. The Cannon would sometimes try to change me. Sometimes, he tries to make me a bad boy, and that doesn't turn out very well. One time, he tried to push me to be a leader, and even though I have told him on so many occasions that a leader is not who I am, he still pushes anyway. Also, remember when I was hit by a pitch? Well, when the Cannon came to check on me, he made sure I didn't cry. So, I understand why you are scared of the Cannon. But, you know what? Coach Terry is such a kind, understanding person. She loves me and accepts me for who I am. She does not want me to change and she wants me to be happy. So, every time the Cannon tries to torture me, I think about her and about how loving and caring she really is."

"That sounds a lot like my mom," Michael said. "She loves me, too, and wants me to be happy as well. She would go the extra mile or two just to make me happy."

"I guess that's why you love her so much," Danny said.

"And that's why your mom and my mom are such good friends," Michael said.

"See, Michael, if this ever happens again, just think about her," Danny said. "Or, think some other happy thoughts, like the game on Saturday and how well-prepared and excited we are about the game."

"I can do that," Michael said. "Thanks, Danny. You're the best."

The two shared a smile and a hug.

"I will wait for you to fall asleep," Danny said.

Michael closed his eyes, thought his happy thoughts and fell asleep. Once Danny saw that Michael was asleep, he returned to his mattress and fell asleep himself.

The kids woke up at eight in the morning.

"Good morning, Michael," Danny said.

"Good morning, Danny," Michael said. "Sorry I woke you with that nightmare."

"It's okay," Danny said. "Did you sleep well once my mom and I comforted you?"

"I did," Michael said. "Thanks for comforting me, Danny."

"Well, the Angles are like family to me," Danny said. "So, the least I can do is to treat them like family."

Michael smiled and said, "So, what do you want to do until your mom fixes us breakfast?"

"Want to play some more video games?" Danny asked.

"Of course," Michael said.

Danny and Michael went to the living room. Michael sat on a chair in the living room while Danny set up the video game for Michael. Once it was all set, Danny sat on a chair next to Michael. They both played video games until Coach Terry woke up and went to the living room where the two friends were.

"Good morning, guys," Coach Terry said.

"Good morning, Mom," Danny said.

"Hey, Michael, did you rest better after the nightmare?" Coach Terry asked.

"I did, thanks to Danny," Michael said. "He's a true friend."

"Danny, I am so proud of you for comforting Michael," Coach Terry said.

"Thanks, Mom," Danny said. "The baseball team is like family to me."

"Me, too," Coach Terry said. "So, let me fix you breakfast and then we will get ready to go to the field to practice."

Coach Terry left with a big smile. Michael and Danny continued to play their game until Coach Terry said, "Boys, breakfast is ready."

Michael and Danny put their game on pause and went to the kitchen to enjoy their breakfast.

"This breakfast is good," Michael said. "Thanks for fixing it, and thanks for the awesome sleepover, you both."

"You're welcome," Coach Terry said.

"You're welcome, Michael," Danny said. "This will be a night to forever remember."

"I agree," Michael said. "So, are you ready for practice?"

"I am ready for practice," Danny said. "Are you ready?"

"I am ready and excited," Michael said. "Now, that I am rested up and comforted."

"And remember, if the Cannon gives you any trouble, you let me know," Coach Terry said.

"I will," Michael said. "I have confidence that you two will keep him straight."

"We will," Coach Terry said. "Now, let's have the best practice ever."

"Yes, let's," Michael said.

Michael, Danny and Coach Terry finished breakfast and then they got ready to go to baseball practice.


End file.
